Conclusion

With the advent of another Ramadhaan, a mixture of feelings overwhelm the
hearts of Muslims all over the world. The hearts are full of hope, based on
truthful promises and great tidings, given by Allah and His Messenger (S), of
great bounties and endless bliss.

*We have been promised that the past sins will be forgiven for those whose
fast is based on belief (Eemaan), sincerity and on truly expecting the reward
from Allah (Ihtisaab).

*We also have been promised that the past sins will be forgiven for those who
offer night prayers (Qiyaam) during the whole month, and who do that with the
same two conditions of Eemaan and Ihtisaab.

*We have further been told that there is one night in this month which is
better (in rewards) than a thousand months of worship, and that all the past
sins will be forgiven for those who spend it offering Qiyaam with both Eemaan
and Ihtisaab.

*We have been told that the devils will be chained down, that the gates of
Hell will all be shut and that the gates of Paradise will all be open
throughout this month.

*We have been told that Allah will free (from punishment) some of his 'ibaad
(worshipers) on every single night of Ramadan.

*We have been told that Allah answers the du'aa of the fasting person at his
iftaar (fast-breaking).

*We have been told that Allah multiplies the rewards of fasting beyond limits
or imagination.

*We have been told that the fasting person will be joyous and happy when he
meets his Lord.

*We all hope to be among those who offer the fast in the right way, in order
to cultivate its glorious fruits.

*We hope to be granted forgiveness of our previous sins, to be able to do
much more good and to overcome all our weaknesses.

*We hope to be among those who receive the gifts from the Jannah, whose gates
are open.

*We hope to humiliate our enemy (Satan), who is chained down, by rejecting
any of his deceitful advice.

*We hope to be among those who shall be granted full atonement of their sins
by the end of this month,
and among those who will be most happy with their fast when they meet their
Lord.

*We hope that all of us, Muslims, will be pleasing to Allah in order to
deserve His Mercy and victory.

Together with hope, we have some concerns in our hearts. There are
conditions for the fasting to be acceptable and to give its desired results:
Eemaan and Ihtisaab. Are we going to perform our fast with the true belief
and the full surrender to Allah, or is it going to be just a hard exercise
for us in order to lose some weight? Are we going to fast because Allah
imposed it on us or just because we have been used to it from our childhood?
Is our intention to please Him or to please our friends and family?

And even when we feel that we do satisfy the conditions for an acceptable
fast, we are still concerned that our deeds may not be accepted from us for
some deficiency on our side that we may have overlooked. This is the way of
the Sahaabah (R) and their true followers, some of whom were reported to have
said: "I will not feel quite safe even if I see that one of my feet is
already in Jannah - not until both of them are in there.

Successful indeed are those who, during this Ramadan, will fast during the
day and pray at night. Those who did not will regret it, and regret it
strongly ...

Ramadan comes only once a year, therefore, we should host it in the best
possible way. However, unlike many of us think and behave, its (Ramadan)
treatment is not the tables full of dishes and the useless parties and
gatherings but rather the reading of Qur'an, the remembrance of Allah, the
prayer at night behind the Imam (the Taraweeh prayer), the Suhour, the du`a
at the Iftar, the charity ...

My Very Dear Muslim Sister after reading all this I hope that we all are are
going to prepare ourselves to fast as perfectly as possible this coming month
of Ramadan by purifying our intention to Allah and following the footsteps of
the Prophet, salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam, and his companions.

We ask Allah to make fasting easy on us, to help us perform it in the perfect
way that pleases Him, to reward us with all the bounties that he promised to
the fasting people, to grant victory, and supremacy to the Islamic Ummah, and
to make our most pleasant and happy day the Day that we shall meet
with Him.

We pray to Allah SWT that He makes us among His `utaqaa' [freed people from
Hell] in this month and that He prevents our bodies, our skins, our flesh and
our bones from Hell Fire. He is the Most Merciful, the Most Beneficent, the
Oft-Forgiving.

We pray to Allah to help us fast this Ramadan in the way it pleases Him the
most so that we enter Paradise from ar-Rayyan gate.

Let us not miss this opportunity of Ramadan to be in the hereafter in
Paradise in the company of our beloved Prophet Mohammad, salla Allahu alaihi
wa sallam, and all the Prophets, and Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman, and Ali and in
the company of the martyrs Hamzah, Mus`ab, Ja`far, Zayd ibn al-Harithah, and
with our mothers Khadija, `Aishah, Ummu Salamah, Safiyyah, Hafsah and the
others...

O Allah, we ask you by Your Beautiful Names and Attributes of higher rank,
and by all the sincere deeds we have done, do not deprive us from their
company, and do not deprive us from looking at you in Paradise. Aameen

Suhaib radhiya Allahu `anh relates that the Messenger of Allah (S) said: When
the inmates of the Paradise will have entered the Paradise, Allah, the Master
of Honor and Glory, will ask them: Do you want anything more that I should
give you? They will submit: (O Allah)! Have you not made our faces shining?
Have you not admitted us to the Paradise and saved us from the Hell? (What
else is left to be desired?) Thereupon, the veil will be withdrawn, and the
inmates of the Paradise will not have known anything dearer to them than
looking at their Lord. [Muslim].

Allah the Exalted said [in the meaning of]:

Those who believe and do good works, their Lord guideth them by their faith.
Rivers will flow beneath them in the Gardens of Delight. Their Prayer therein
will be: Subhanaka Allahumma (Glory be to Allah)
Their greeting therein will be Salam (peace). And the conclusion of their
prayer will be al-Hamdu liLlahi Rabbi-l-`alameen (Praise be to Allah, Lord of
the worlds).[Yunus, 10:10-11].

All praise is due to Allah, who has guided us to this; and we would not have
been guided, had Allah not guided us.

wa salla Allahu `ala Nabiyyina Mohammad wa `ala 'aalihi wa sahbih (and may
Prayer and Peace be upon the our Prophet Mohammad, his family and his
companions).

(1) passages from the book "Fasting in Ramadan as
observed by the Prophet salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam"
by Shaikh Ali al-Halabi and Shaikh Salim al-Hilali.
This book is one of the best books written so far
on the topic especially that it contains all ayaat
and authentic ahadith relevant to fasting and to Ramadan.
Al-hamdu liLLAH it has been translated to English
[from al-Qur'an was-Sunnah Society of North America]